The Night Games
by SilverBlueMoon
Summary: The members of Circle Daybreak have been captured by the Joint Council and are awaiting execution when the news comes: They will be forced to participate in a fight to the death, where only one pair of soulmates will live.
1. The Letter

**Greeting to my readers, new and old alike! Here I have it-the first Night World/Hunger Games crossover ever! Or, at least, the only one I could find on fanfiction. Being my first crossover, it migh be a little iffy, but I hope that you like it!**

**And it is with great sorrow that I admit that I do not own the Hunger Games or the Night World series. Suzanne Collins and L.J. Smith do.**

* * *

**This story picks up once the members of Circle Daybreak have been imprisoned and are in various stages of reacting to the news that a letter sent to all of them contains. Enjoy!**

* * *

Poppy/James:

"I can't believe it!" exploded Poppy upon reading the notice in her hand. "It's not possible!"

"Shush, Poppy, It can't be that bad," soothed James, her best friend and soulmate, gently pulling the crumpled paper from her hand.

His pale face became even whiter as he read the text. "Oh," was all he could say in the end. "Oh, well, that's bad," he murmured.

Poppy did not respond. She was too busy staring blankly at the black walls of their prison cell. "I wondered why they didn't kill off when they caught us," she finally managed to choke out. "I suppose now we know."

"Oh, Poppy," James whispered, pulling the petite vampire into a tight hug. "It'll be alright."

Mary-Lynnette/Ash

"Ooh, I could just kill them all!" screamed Mary Lynnette, kicking the stone wall will all her might. "Ow!" she moaned.

"Careful," Ash cautioned her. "The wall is much harder than a shin."

"Very funny," she snapped. "Now tell me, genius, what are going to do with the situation at hand?"

"Win, of course. Together."

"Ha!" Mary-Lynnette retorted. "So you'd kill your friends, your cousin, and your _sisters_? Even I know you were never that ruthless."

"I'm trying to prioritize!" Ash roared. "It's soulmates first, always! I didn't give up everything for you just to lose you later!"

Rowan, Kestrel, Jade, and Mark

"A challenge," Kestrel cooed. "It's like a hunt, nothing more."

"I don't want this," Jade whispered as Mark pulled her into a hug. "I don't want to kill those we've been working with."

"Please!" snorted Kestrel. "It's not as if we have much a choice."

"Oh, Jade, I'm so sorry," murmured Rowan. "But there's nothing we can do now."

"All we can do is hope to win," Mark said. "And I won't leave you Jade, no matter what happens."

Eric/Thea

"It's preposterous!" Eric cried, slamming his frist into the wall.

"I told you the night world was not that nice a place," Thea responded quietly.

"We can still win, you know."

"Please, Eric, don't start."

"But, Thea, we _could_."

"Don't be stupid," she scoffed. "Neither one of us was willing to harm that snake back when we met; imagine us trying to kill _people_."

Eric sighed, collapsing against the wall. "I love you, witch," he whispered, remembering the first time he'd said those words. Back then, his and Thea's futures had stretched out in a clear path. Now, he felt that they would both die within the next few weeks.

Gilligan/David

"I can't believe that they'd force us to kill each other!" Gilligan spluttered. "I don't care how cruel they told me the night world was, I'm still supposed to be a part of them!"

"Jill, I don't think that matters," David sighed wearily. "They're angry, and we upstaged them. All they want is a little revenge."

"But-to die…I'm not ready. I don't want to die."

"C'mon, Gilligan. We've both seen the afterlife. If anyone of us should be prepared to die, it would be us."

"Yes," she admitted. "I've always wanted to know what was behind that door, the day I came back…"

Rashel/Quinn

"This was the best excuse for revenge that they could come up with?" Quinn snorted in contempt.

"Actually, I think it's plenty horrible," Rashel responded. "Think about it, Quinn-we'll have to take them all out before we can win. I gave up killing!"

"I don't care! All I want is for you to win! And if that means personally killing everyone else in these 'Games' of theirs, I swear I'll do it, Rashel Jordan!"

Hanna/Thierry

"Well, we know who won't win," Thierry whispered dejectedly. "I'll never break the promise I made, back when you were Hana."

"And I won't kill again, if I can help it," Hanna responded. "Maya was bad enough. And that was justified. These orders, I…I can't comply."

"Do you think I could be an Old Soul?" Thierry asked. "I was ment to be, before I was changed."

"I don't know. Maya said that vampires don't come back."

"At least you'll return."

"I'm not sure I'd want to."

Jez/Morgead

_It'll be just like our days in the gang_, Jez thought.

"True," Morgead responded. Jez hadn't even felt him read her thoughts, a testament to just how out of it she was. "It's too bad that we're no longer the same people," he mused.

"Oh, shut up," Jez snarled. "I know you'd love to go back to the thrill of the hunt."

The pair stared at each other, silent.

Maggie/Delos

"Oh, isn't this just great?"

Delos studied Maggie's face with intense concentration. "Sure," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, you're impossible! Be serious for one moment, please!"

"Would you prefer I be realistic? We're all going to kill our close friends, and then we'll die."

Maggie scowled and turned away. "Unbearable," she muttered.

Delos was not entirely certain whether she was referring to him or to the letter.

Keller/Galen

Keller growled, a low sound deep in her throat, and ripped the notice to shreds.

"What's wrong?" Galen questioned her.

"It's…it's…ugh!" Keller spluttered, too angry to continue. _This_! She exclaimed, showing him the gist of the letter in her mind.

_Oh,_ Galen responded. _I see_.

"I am not going to give them the satisfaction of me dying!"

"Well, what can we do?"

"Fight our way out! And how can they kill you, anyway? You're supposed to be important to the Night World!"

Illiana and Blaise (NO, not a pairing by any means, I just decided to stick them together in a cell to expedite the first chapter. They're cousins, for crying out loud!)

Illiana sniffled quietly in a corner while Blaise paced the small chamber angrily.

She trailed her hands through her smoky hair and kicked the wall. "Those…those…ugh!" she exclaimed, unable to find a curse word bad enough to describe the Joint Council.

Illiana aimed her hand at the iron doorway that contained them, but she was unable to summon even regular orange witch-fire, much less the blue fire of a Wild Power.

"What's the point of being a witch," she hissed, "If we have absolutely no powers?"

Blaise did not respond to her cousin's complaints. Instead, she fixed her furious, smoldering gaze upon the doorway, as if her wrath alone could free them.

**The Letter:**

It is henceforth announced as public knowledge that the leaders of Cirle Daybreak have been apprehended and are being held in custody by order of the Joint Council. As punishment for breaching every law the Night World upholds, the rebels will be executed.

Each of the twenty-four chosen members of Circle Daybreak shall be trained in the art of combat before being released into an Arena. Within this Arena, the tributes will fight to the death, until a single pair remains. They alone shall be pardoned.


	2. The Parade

"I feel ridiculous!" Poppy exploded, taking in her costume. She was laced into a tight maroon velvet gown, which clashed horrendously with her rust-colored hair. Her already pale face had been coated with snow-white paint, and red contact lenses obscured her silver-green eyes. The most humiliating part of her costume, she felt, were the plastic costume fangs protruding from her mouth.

Her soulmate James was dressed to match. "It's all part of their revenge," he explained. "If we spent time with humans, we must conform to how they see us, right?"

"I hate when they actually _think_," Poppy muttered.

James laughed mirthlessly and pulled her into a tight hug.

They were arranged in order of when each member of the Night World had broken the laws, so of course James and Poppy were forced into the first chariot.

Behind them were Mark and Jade, followed by Mary-Lynnette and Ash. His sisters, Rowan and Kestrel, were placed behind him. Eric and Thea stood stoically behind them, their eyes obscured by the enormous pointed hats and robes they were being forced to wear.

Jez Redfern and Morgread scowled at the crowd as they were taunted with jeers. Maggie looked close to tears, and Delos was staring daggers at the crowds. Keller hissed, halfway in her panther form, while Galen desperately tried to remain in his human appearance.

Illiana was openly weeping, while beside her, Blaise tossed her wild hair over her shoulder and waved at the crowd, seemingly oblivious to the taunting.

The spectators laughed and pointed at the Circle Daybreak member's ridiculous outfits. They hurled insults at the fools who would rather socialize with prejudiced humans than with _real_ people.

By the time they reached the end of the road, the tributes were flushed red with fury, resentment, and humiliation.

"Welcome," began a woman from a podium overhead. She was pale, with the perfect skin that identified a night person. Her perfectly coifed golden hair glimmered brilliantly, and her enormous mahogany eyes shimmered maliciously. On her head, she wore a crown carved from obsidian, sculpted to the form of iris and foxglove blooms.

She must be both a vampire and a werewolf, Hanna's analytical mind processed.

She glanced sideways and caught Thierry's eye. He nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"Welcome," The lady continued. "Welcome all to the punishment of our Night World rebels."

She paused, allowing the crowd's cheers to swell around her for a full minute before attempting to reclaim attention. "But, we could not allow such traitors to go unpunished for so long, only to have a simple execution at one time." She flashed a pointy-toothed smile at the crowd. "So, this execution has been turned into a…pageant…of sorts. The members of Circle Daybreak will fight to the death in an outdoor arena for our entertainment. In the end, only two will win. That is, two will win if those two are 'soulmates'." She sneered, letting the audience know exactly what she thought of _that_ concept.

While the crowd cheered, the members of Circle Daybreak looked at each other in shock and horror. Even if they already knew what was in store for them, hearing it said out loud made it final.

"Of course, we must even the playing field," she continued. "So, the Wild Powers participating have been neutralized. They have no more power than any other Night World member." The vampire/werewolf basked in the crowd's admiration. "That is all. May the Games begin!"

She exited the stage in a whirl of rapturous applause.


	3. Training Begins

**Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the extra-long wait that I've put you through! I've been struggling to get through my final exams, but it's taken a toll on my writing.**

**I promise that I won't abandon my story, but the updates might be few and far between.**

**As the wise ones say; good things come to those who wait. Well, you waited, and I'm fairly certain that this is good.**

**No, I don't own Night World or The Hunger Games. Stop reminding me!**

* * *

The Circle Daybreak members mingled among each other, talking rapidly. "What can we do?" questioned Maggie.

"We could just stand there," suggested Thea.

"No, that won't work. They'll make us fight," Quinn replied.

"So, that brings us back to square one," Illiana quipped.

"They must have a plan to get us to fight," Ash called out. "Even the most thickheaded Night person knows better than to expect us to fight each other as is."

The twenty-four Circle Daybreak members fell silent, contemplating Ash's words.

Blaise opened her mouth to speak, but the doors opened before she could force any sound out.

As the figure walked into the chamber, every Daybreaker fell silent with terror. Quinn and Rashel, however, only stiffened in anger.

He was tall, with light blonde hair and cruel eyes. He moved with the sinewy grace that only a vampire could manage. "Ivan," Rashel hissed. Quinn grasped her arm and pulled her closer to him. His eyes glared at him in accusations, recalling how Ivan had tried to drink his soulmate's blood a few months back.

"Why, Quinn, fancy meeting you here!" he gasped sarcastically.

"Hello, Ivan. Nice to know you're not dead," Rashel sneered. "I should've killed you back when I had the chance."

"Ah, but you didn't. And _you're_ the one who'll be dead, soon."

Quinn hissed, sharpened teeth flashing dangerously. Ash moved behind him and restrained him. "Don't," he warned.

Rashel took Quinn's hand and pulled him back, glaring at Ivan all the while.

He smirked at them a moment longer before turning to the rest of the assembled group. "Everyone, circle up," he called.

Reluctantly, the twenty-four members of Circle Daybreak clustered loosely around the tall blonde vampire.

"A week from now, some of you will be dead." He paused to let that sink in to their minds. "Here, you will train for the next few days. You'll learn to use swords, knives, bows, and any other number of weapons to prepare you for the Arena. You will also study basic survival skills. And then, we will release you into an outdoor arena, where you will fight to the death."

"Never," Poppy hissed, her hand reaching out to grab a hold of James's. Thea grasped Eric's hand, and he grabbed onto Poppy. Soon, every member of Circle Daybreak was holding on to each other.

Ivan's pale face turned bright red and blotchy as his anger grew. He nodded almost imperceptibly, and guards melted out of the shadows. It took two Night people to restrain each of them.

"Of course, we suspected you might be…averse…to killing each other." He nodded slightly, his face losing its flushed color as he felt himself regaining control. "So, we have developed a concoction that will erase any alliance you may have with each other."

An uproar rose from the assembled tributes as they struggled to escape. Ivan smirked slightly as a table was rolled into the chamber. The tiny platform was lined with twenty-four syringes. Each syringe contained a dark amber liquid.

Ivan nodded once again, and the guards pulled Gilligan, by far the tiniest of the tributes to where he stood.

Gilligan shivered and struggled to move away, but her two captors held her. Ivan picked up the first syringe and plunged it into Gilligan's neck. She screamed and pulled away, but it was too late.

She collapsed into a pile and lay there, whimpering as the liquid moved through her system.

Ivan moved along methodically, thoughtlessly plunging injections into each tribute's neck.

Within minutes, the room was filled with the whimpers of twenty-four adolescents as they fought against the gripping pain of the spells.

When the effects faded at last, they stood up on quivering legs. It was a queer thing, really. The tributes could still remember each other, though distantly. The only bonds that still hung strong were those between the Soulmates.

"Now," Ivan called, rounding them up once again, "We begin training."

* * *

Hanna wandered aimlessly around the Training Center as she searched for a station to attend. She could see Thierry practicing camouflage in a corner. She considered joining him, but something she glimpsed from the corner of her eye captivated her attention. A bow and arrow.

Without even planning to, Hanna found herself wandering over to the archery station. Slowly, almost reverently, she strung an arrow onto the sting and aimed at a target. She released, exhaling in a hiss as she did so. The arrow stuck in the very center of the target.

_Hanje_, her mind whispered. Hanna froze instantly as her mind was assaulted by a wave of images. _A tall, thin girl-a pair of gray eyes, more slanted than Hanna remembered-a pale pink birthmark curling along a pale cheek-standing in the cover of trees, a quiver of silver-tipped arrows on her back-a werewolf with black fur, dying from the poisoning of silver in its blood-a tall stranger, taller and blonder than herself, whom she loved despite the fact that he was a Night person, her sworn enemy…_

Hanna hurriedly plunked the bow onto its stand and fled the archery station. She was gasping for air despite how little work she'd done. _Never again_, she promised herself. Her warrior life had been one incarnation better left forgotten. Wiping the tears of regret that had formed in her eyes, Hanna moved to the camouflage station, where Thierry was attempting to turn his hand into a rock.

* * *

"No, no, you're doing it wrong," Rashel scolded Quinn lightly as she readjusted his grip on the sword. "You hold it like this," she instructed, and demonstrated a simple thrust of the blade.

"Good," she congratulated, watching him. "Now fight me." Grinning savagely, Rashel took the dulled metal bokken sword and faced Quinn. She moved forward with a simple thrust forward. Quinn blocked her with the simple maneuver she had illustrated earlier that day.

"Good," she repeated, and moved with a more advanced move. Again, Quinn blocked her. Quickly, he turned and swung the blade at Rashel. She sidestepped, grinning. "Not bad, for a beginner."

* * *

"Ready?" Galen questioned his soulmate.

"Yes," Keller replied.

Galen pushed a lever on the wall, and moving targets shot out of the ground. Keller flicked a knife and hit a target dead-center. Galen followed suit, impaling his dagger in another target. As one, they shot their knives. The two blades hit each other in the air and tumbled to the floor with a loud clatter.

* * *

"Ouch," Mary-Lynette muttered, rising from the ground. Angrily, she rubbed at the bruise forming on her forearm. "Ash, why exactly are we at this station?"

"I figured you would like it. Considering how much you like kicking people."

Mary-Lynette glared at him, an angry hiss emanating from her throat.

"I see my sisters taught you well," Ash observed.

"_What_ are you talking about?"

"That hissing. It sounded almost like a real vampire."

"Oh, shut up," Mary-Lynette exclaimed, aiming a punch at his arm.

Ash sidestepped her easily and threw a kick of his own, which sent her tumbling once again to the floor.

"Idiot," Mary-Lynette grumbled.

* * *

"I'm proposing an alliance," Blaise spoke behind Illiana, startling her.

"Why?" she asked, her voice suspicious.

"Well, we're cousins, after all."

"Distantly."

"And everyone else has an alliance. If we're going to stand a chance, we'll need strength in numbers."

"So ask another witch."

"I tried. Poppy still doesn't trust me, and Thea is with Eric. Who, by the way, cannot stand me."

Illiana concentrated for a moment. "What about Gilligan, then?"

"We can try, but I doubt she'll be much good in the Arena. And besides, she's working with David already."

Gilligan looked up as her two distant cousins approached. She studied Blaise warily, taking in her dark, stormy beauty and Illiana, who could have been her sister based on looks alone. "Hi…" she whispered.

"How are you?" Illiana beamed at her.

"Fine," Gilligan responded.

"So, we were wondering," Blaise drawled, pulling closer to Gilligan, "If you wanted to team up with us in the Games."

Gilligan's violet eyes studied Illiana's looking for any hint that the alliance offered was real.

"Yes," Gilligan finally consented, brushing a slender hand through her short blonde hair. "If, that's okay with you?" she amended, turning to David.

David shrugged, staring at his soulmate's face with a distressed expression on his face. He turned away, biting his lip as he thought.

_If you trust them, I will too_, he thought at her.

_I don't know…_Gilligan responded. _How long could it last? Before…you know._

_Say yes, Jill. What do have to lose, anyway?_

_Nothing that haven't already taken, that's for sure_, she thought with uncharacteristic fury. But then, David thought, she had good reason to be angry.

"We accept," David told his Soulmate's cousins.

"Good," Blaise smiled.

* * *

"And what does the lavender do?" Eric quizzed Thea.

"Simple. You take it to induce a feeling of calm."

"Right."

Thea sighed. "Why are we doing this again, Eric? I doubt we'll make it that far, with or without the plant knowledge."

"We can try."

"Oh, sure. We'll _try_. Do you even know how to shoot a bow, Eric? Or throw a knife? Or cut somebody to ribbons with a sword? What about impaling them with a spear? Because I certainly don't know how to do any of that!" Thea was breathing heavily by the end of her outburst, and her eyes were gleaming with tears.

Eric looked positively green. "No…and I don't really want to."

Thea sighed. "Exactly. So we go in knowing only plants, and hope for the best."

Eric hugged Thea. She let him, too tired to protest.

She was, in fact, too tired to do anything, it seemed.


	4. Interviews

**I'm ever so sorry for the delay! I've been up to my eyeballs in work (I'm an intern at art camp, and the children leave me so tired I collapse in a heap upon returning home) I've also had a severe case of Writer's block like you cannot imagine. But here is my latest chapter!**

**I would like to thank Winterowl312 for pointing out the fact that it is Gillian, not Gilligan, as I wrote in the last chapter. That was rather embarrasing.**

_**Please vote on my poll!**_

**I do not own The Hunger Games or Night World, but you knew that already, didn't you?**

* * *

"Why are we going through interviews again?" Maggie questioned Delos.

"It'll make us see how much the audience hates us," he replied. "They're hoping that'll weaken us in these 'Games' of theirs." He laughed mirthlessly at Maggie's shocked expression. "Haven't you figured it out yet? Night People are evil. Every last one of them."

Maggie gasped. _But you're not evil!_ She chided with her thoughts.

_No, but I would have watched this, and laughed, just a few months ago, _he admitted.

Maggie could feel the jagged edges of regret in her Soulmate's mind, and it near about broke her heart. _Don't,_ she begged. _Don't do this, Delos_.

Delos opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a rather rude witch pulling them into line.

Maggie was distracted by the other tributes in the line. Deep in her mind, she recalled these people were important to her, but the feeling was buried too deep to rise. They were all strangers to her.

She studied the twenty-two others, wondering who would be the one to kill her. The pair up front-the brown haired boy and the flame-haired girl, did not seem like much competition. He was too kind-looking, and while she looked fierce, she was _tiny_.

Behind them was another feeble-looking pair, a vampire girl with silvery hair and a human boy with dark hair.

The girl who stood after them seemed to be his sister; Maggie could tell from the coloring that they shared. She looked harmless enough, but her Soulmate was radiating danger.

Maggie barely spared a glance at the pair behind them, a tall, blonde girl and a sandy haired boy.

Maggie turned away after looking at the few tributes. She really couldn't bear it, deep down in the repressed section of her mind where she could still remember these people as friends, as people with names.

* * *

"And here we have Miss Poppy North," The announcer declared snidely. The redhead walked confidently onto the stage, emerald eyes wide and pretentiously innocent. She blithely ignored the jeers thrown in her direction.

Her soulmate fared even worse, if that was even possible.

"So, James, what made you risk everything to be with vermin?" the shapeshifter questioned.

"They're not vermin," he said in his quiet way. The rumble of dissent that rose from the crowd drowned out the rest of his interview.

Maggie noticed that some of the tributes received less negative slurs than others. One in particular, a black haired, black-eyed vampire who seemed to be named Quinn, commanded respect even from all of the night people that must surely hate him.

When Maggie's turn came up, she walked with trembling legs. She knew that she was at a huge disadvantage-she was a human, after all.

"And please give a warm welcome to Maggie," The announcer sneered in a voie saturated with sarcasm. The audience hooted in laughter and jeered the small girl.

Maggie bit her lip and forced an expression of detached disdain to overtake her features, much like her soulmate would.

"So, Maggie, what possesd you to think you could ever compare to a vampire?" the announcer questioned her.

"The fact that I can," she responded, ignoring the screams of fury emanating from the crowd. "And that I was able to beat a crowd of vampires already," she added blithely.

The angry cacophony that rose from the crowd blazed for a full minute before settling down slightly. Maggie opened her mouth to speak, but the sound level surged upon her doing so. Finally she gave up and sat back, waiting for the timer to sound.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter, I swear I'm already working on the next one. Remember my poll!**


	5. Reflections

**I'm so sorry for the delay! The thing is, I've had writer's block like you cannot imagine. On top of that, I've had my other stories to work on, and I've been unbelievably busy. To make it up to you for my last chapter, I made this one longer. Enjoy!**

**Please check out my other stories!**

**I do not own The Hunger Games or Night World. But everyone here knew that already.**

* * *

None of the tributes could sleep that night.

Poppy sat up hugging a pillow to her chest, humming her favorite song as she fought back the tears she refused to shed. Her throat stung, and her cloud of red hair was disheveled, as if she had not combed it in weeks. The emerald-colored gown she'd worn to the interviews lay in a tangled pile on the ground. James wandered into the room and settled next to Poppy, called by her silent telepathic tears. The two held onto each other tightly, like the sole survivors of a shipwreck.

* * *

Mark held onto Jade's hand tightly, as if scared to let it go. Her head rested on his shoulder, and his dark head rested on her pale one. They were both oddly dry-eyed. Near them sat Jade's sisters, Rowan and Kestrel.

Kestrel was attempting integrate the other three into her alliance, but Rowan wouldn't hear of it.

"You're my sister," she began, facing the golden-haired vampire, "But we won't join your alliance. All of you want to win just to do it, and neither Jade nor I could stay sane after that."

"So you'll die," Kestrel hissed.

"We're going to die anyway," Mark announced. "Jade and I, neither of us are fighters."

Nobody refuted the comment, which was perhaps the scariest part of all.

* * *

"So that's our plan?" Mary-Lynette questioned Ash.

"Unless you have a better one," He responded, his eyes currently the color of molten amber.

"Fine. We pick up weapons and run off to live away from all of them."

"Good. Now we should try to rest."

"Easy for you to say."

"Not really," Ash responded with his eyes already closed.

* * *

David punched the wall for the millionth time. Gillian could have told him not to bother.

She knew, with that inexplicable sixth sense that came from being a witch, that the plaster-covered walls were constituted with sheets of iron, silver, and wood. Enough to keep any Night Person from escaping, and certainly strong enough to hold in a human.

"When the gong rings tomorrow," David began, giving up on the wall, "Run."

"But…" protested Gillian.

"No, listen to me," David begged her. "We're working with your cousins. You'll run into cover while I get the supplies."

"Don't be stupid! I don't need your protection!" she snapped.

* * *

Quinn laughed that ruthless smile that disturbed and fascinated Rashel in equal measures. "It'll be just like old times," he told her, "only this time, we'll be on the same side."

Rashel wasn't sure if the sick feeling in her stomach was one of excitement or dread. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out the answer.

* * *

Hanna was caught in her memories. Images from all of her past lives flashed through her mind in shockingly bright waves as she struggled to find anything that could help her prepare for tomorrow's _Games_.

Her life as Hana taught her to be afraid of wild animals, how to find edible foods, and how to survive in the woods.

When she had been Hanje, she'd been a warrior. She'd learned to kill without feeling the remorse in the deepest recesses of her soul.

As Ian, she had been a slave, used to the hard physical work and meager food supplies she would suffer through in the Arena.

But…most of her lives had left her unprepared for what she was going to face. Her lives as a priestess and a monk had instilled in her a deep hatred of violence. Her Princess identity had left her soft.

If she was to survive, however, Hanna knew she would have to rely on _all_ of her past selves.

"It still might not be enough," Thierry warned her.

* * *

Jez's fingers itched, she felt…defenseless…without the stake she had grown used to carrying around.

Morgread's hand wound its into hers, and she relaxed at last.

"It might even be fun," she whispered. "Running around with the others, killing the opponents. And that's what worries me."

Morgread tilted his head as he stared at her.

"Tomorrow, we'll meet up with Kestrel, Quinn, Rashel, Keller, and that boy of hers, and we'll kill off the others.

"I'm scared," the redhead admitted. "I still remember the fact that they were all my friends once, but it doesn't matter anymore."

"All you feel is the thrill of the hunt," Morgread agreed. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Maggie bit down on her lip, _hard_. Now was not the time for nervous laughter. Still, she couldn't help the little bubble of false mirth that was rising in her throat.

Delos glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, eyebrow raised.

"Should we have made an alliance?" Maggie asked suddenly. "We're going into this completely unprepared, and there's only two of us."

"I cannot trust the others," Delos admitted. "I have nothing to tell me they won't kill us when our backs are turned."

"I don't blame you," Maggie admitted, "because that is what I would do."

* * *

Galen just looked sick to his stomach, in stark contrast to his Soulmate.

Keller's teeth were bared in a determined, bloodthirsty sneer.

Galen shrunk back from her. Golden fur sprouted along the back of his neck as he shivered. Keller hadn't thought twice about entering an alliance with the most dangerous of the group, and that scared him.

He'd always known that his Soulmate was dangerous, deadly even, but he'd never once considered that she might actually enjoy what they were about to go into.

* * *

"We'll win, of course. Witches always do," Blaise laughed.

Illiana said nothing, staring down at her ragged nails. Idly, she wondered when her perfect hands had become so…different. No longer was the skin smooth and pale, but rather red and dry.

"Illiana, are you listening?" Blaise quipped.

"Wha-oh, yes. Yes, I was," she mumbled.

"Good, because I was just going over our plan. You know the one."

"Yeah. You, Gilligan, and I will be a team. Fight them. Win. Joy."

Blaise smirked. "I knew you'd agree, dear cousin."


	6. Bloodbath and Grief

**Sort Author's Note at the end.**

**I do not own Night World or The Hunger Games, nor will I any time in the forseeable future.**

* * *

Ash looked around the clearing with wide eyes, struggling to see in the bright sunlight. His eyes watered from the light, and he could feel his energy ebbing away.

Ash grit his teeth, scowling. He was a _vampire_, for crying aloud. An immortal. He was too strong to be slowed by a little light.

The already-forming burns on his face and arms told a different story, however.

_How did I get here?_ Ash wondered, his mind flashing back to the events of the previous few hours...

* * *

It was still dark when the captives were pulled from their separate chambers and loaded into black cars with tinted windows. They'd driven for a good forty minutes before being loaded into individual "launch rooms" to prepare for the bloodbath.

He had been forced to wear a uniform identical to the outfits of all the other tributes in the Games. It consisted of black pants, lined with pockets along the sides of the thigh, lace-up leather boots, and a dark red V-necked shirt the color of old blood. The only difference between them was the symbol printed on the shirt on the lower right hand, identifying what type of creature they were.

The lamia's shirts were decorated with black irises. Roses the color of midnight graced the made-vampires shirts. Witches held dahlias as their badges, and the shape-shifters were identifiable by the foxglove on their shirts. The humans, however, wore plain, unmarked shirts.

All of this Ash picked up from the minds of the two werewolves who forced him into his uniform, both of which had been too stupid to properly block their minds.

As he stepped onto the plate that would raise him into the Arena, Ash had thought about his Soulmate. He hadn't seen Mary-Lynette since they'd been pulled apart so roughly earlier in that day, though he wished desperately that they could meet anywhere but where they were about to.

* * *

The gong rang, its sullen tone echoing across the Arena and vibrating within the tributes' chests.

Ash took off toward the center of the circle, where a golden Cornucopia stood ready with supplies: weapons. He saw knives of iron and silver and wood, spears and swords, bows and arrows. It was positively barbaric.

He scooped up a handful of weapons without really seeing them and ran, his Soulmate close at his heels.

* * *

The Career pack descended upon the Cornucopia. Jez scooped up a handful of double-tipped spears, metal on one side and wood on the other. Morgead grasped a wickedly sharp broadsword. Rashel and Quinn armed themselves with curved bokken blades, Keller grasped her knives. Kestrel leapt for a set of throwing-knives.

The group whirled about to face the approaching tributes.

Illiana's eyes widened as she noticed the threat, and she turned to flee. Kestrel was too fast for the witch. In the blink of an eye, the vampire was on the smaller girl, knife piercing Illiana's back as her elongated canine teeth sunk into soft, pale flesh.

* * *

Maggie was caught defenseless by Morgead. She brandished a small twig in front of him, hoping desperately for an escape, regardless of how unlikely that was. Morgead tackled her to the ground and ripped into her throat.

* * *

David charged Galen from behind, his face set into a determined mask. The leopard shapeshifter cried out in shock as the cold iron dug deep into his lithe body.

Keller shrieked, an inhuman sound, as her Soulmate's death registered in her mind and body. The shock of it was a physical thing, one that left her breathless and dizzy with horror. For a moment, all she could do was shriek in inhuman agony. She shifted shape in midair as she charged David.

The panther tackled the human boy. He never had a chance.

* * *

Jade ran deep into the forest as Mark had begged her to.

Even with her super-human vampire body, she was breathless and weak, sick with horror and high on the scent of blood. Her fangs protruded from her mouth, and she struggled to keep from falling into bloodlust.

A sharp pain pierced her chest, a feeling so horrible that she could not tell if it was physical or emotional. Her mind was a roar of fury and grief so brilliant it was blinding. She had no idea how long she'd been on the ground when it finally registered in her mind that she was there, face pressed into moldy, decomposing leaves and mud.

"Mark!" she screamed. "Mark!"

He did not answer her. Jade curled up into a tight ball and wept for the human boy whom she had lost.

* * *

Rowan felt her younger sister's pain, sensed it within their shared blood. She clenched her jaw and allowed a single tear to slip out from her eye.

One, but no more. Closing her eyes, Rowan focused on her sister's mind. Finally, she located her-on the other side of the Cornucopia. Jade's mind was sending out shockwaves of pain so loud that surely the people outside of the Arena could hear her.

Clambering into the trees to avoid detection, Rowan went in pursuit of her heartbroken sister.

* * *

Poppy and James hid in the underbrush, waiting for the Career pack to wander off. They were downwind from the hunters, to their great relief. As the minutes passed, the wild, jumbled events of the previous hour massed into understandable images.

_Are_ – James began to ask in his mind, before remembering that there were other telepaths in the vicinity, including the immensely powerful Quinn. Shaking his head, James stared intently at Poppy, willing her to understand his question. She nodded almost imperceptivity, signaling that yes, she was fine.

The pair did not relax until the last of the Career pack had faded from their views, and until the prickle of their minds was dulled to nothing.

Finally, they exhaled. "_Are_ you all right?" demanded James.

"As well as could be, all things considered," Poppy mussed. She blinked repetedly to clear her head. "Anyway, let's get as many things as we can find before going far, far away."

Prowling silently, every sense on high alert, James and Poppy made their way over to the clearing where the golden Cornucopia lay. While not exactly picked clean, most everything was gone. Still, Poppy managed to find a decent dagger, about the size of her petite hand. James picked up a spear that looked slightly crooked. He inclined his head toward his Soulmate. "Let's go."

They ran on shadow-silent feet, traveling with no clear direction other than _away_. The vampires crossed several marshes, wavering uncertainally on their feet. The night was growing steadily darker as the pair snuggled up in the roots of a weeping willow tree. They held a small deer between them, drinking thirstily. Suddenly, the sky lit up, showing one by one the faces of those who had lost the game that day.

Poppy had a vague feeling that she should care for the people in the sky, a nagging urge telling her to _remember_. Shrugging as the memories slipped further and further away, she curled up and prepared for a night of dangerous sleep.

* * *

**So, yeah. This is so late, I won't even attempt to apologize. The scenes are rather chaotic in this chapter, but then again, so is the first day of competition in the Games. The story will become more linear from now on.**

**My New Year's Resolution is to update everything more frequently. Since I have so many stories and extracurriculars to take care of, I'll go for maybe once or twice a month.**

**Thanks for clicking,**

**Silver**


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